8. 6. Debate by Individual Members under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Future Transport Modes

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:24 pm on 18 October 2017.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 4:24, 18 October 2017

[Continues.]—that I won’t indulge myself in reading through. But I do think it’s worth—and you’ll forgive me for doing so—mentioning the need for advancing policy thinking at all levels of government in the UK. The issue about the generation of electricity in order to support these new technologies is a big one. So, I’m going to take this opportunity, unashamedly, to ask the UK Government to make the decision on the Swansea tidal lagoon in the way it should be made—as we know everybody in Wales wants it to be made, because I think it’s not really acceptable that they drag their feet on that—and to abhor the lack of electrification of the mainline railway down into Swansea, not least because we need the infrastructure for that to roll out some of the other programmes. There are many things that we can do. We’ve been clear from the outset that we want integrated transport systems in Wales to bring communities closer, to link our people with jobs, leisure and tourism opportunities, and to develop our economy. But more than anything else, we want to ride the crest of this wave, embrace it, and make it Wales’s contribution to the future as we go forward. Diolch yn fawr.